Subject: Question
Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2005 11:58:21 -0600

I'm learning fiddle. I heard a fiddle player say "in the key of G" to the lead person in a band. What string would you start a song on? Or, what does that mean in the "in the key of G"? Where would you start? I'm really confused on this.

You'll want to consider purchasing a music theory book...for this is quite difficult to answer in one e-mail.

Just because a song is in the key of G, doesn't mean the first note or chord is a G...it is almost always true that the song will end in the note and chord of the specified key. The song will more than likely be kicked off starting with a G note if the song is in the key of G.

The key is the tonal center of the song...and all songs have a key that they're based on. There are 12 tones in the western music scale...all of which can be used as a key for the tonal center of a song. Most songs are played within only a few of the 12 tones...for instance, the most common keys are: C G D A E...a music theory book is well worth studying...for music theory is a lifetime study unto itself.

Hope this helps, Mickey

I love your web site and have learned from it, but this has me confused. I would appreciate any help you could give me in answering this question. Thank you,


Terry Carlson

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Subject: fiddle playing
Date: Sun, 2 Nov 2003 12:34:34 -0500

Dear folks, I'm fairly good at playing an learning tunes but I don't read music.When i play with others (either a small group or a guitar player-singer)I do not know what key I'm playing in.Could you tell me an easy way to help us with my delema?
Thank You,"lost in a fiddle" Ron Chidester

Greetings Ron,

There are a couple of ways to determine which key you're playing in:

1. The very last note played, the ending note, usually determines the key of a piece. If you know how the tune ends, and you can name the note it ends on, 95% of the time, that will be the tonic note or key center of the piece you're playing.

2. Start learning the names of all of your scales...upon doing so, you'll be better able to determine the key you're in simply by experimenting over the top of the tune with different scales...once you find a scale that seems to fit in, the tonic note of the scale, usually the beginning note, would be the key center of the tune. For instance, a G major scale plugs into Em...however, you notice as the chord progression starts, it appears that the E note is the harmonic starting point...and yet, the scale that sounds harmonious with the tune is a G scale...hence, you then know that this would be the key center: Em.

3. You can also determine the key center by the note the key starts in...keep in mind, a major triad chord contains 3 notes...when a song begins, one of those three notes will be the starting point. Almost never does a tune start on a note that is not contained by the first chord (and, the first chord usually always starts on the key center). Many times, the starting note will also be the name of the key...however, it's best to learn how to break down and build chords with this method of determining which key you're in...

My highest recommendation would be to purchase a music theory book and begin the journey of understanding the skeletal frame of music. This will help you in many more ways than just determining key centers...You have the highest hill already climbed: learning music by ear. I believe the easy part is the theory...many players, who are well versed in theory, have a higher hill to climb than you when attempting to learn to improvise or play strictly by ear.

Good luck on your musical journies, Mickey